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Terra |
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| Alias: Tara Markov |
Titans Member
joined: New Teen Titans #30 [1983] |
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| Terra I Quick Bio: Bold and brassy Tara Markov gained earth-manipulating abilities through Markovian scientist Dr. Jace. Adopting the name Terra, the bitter malcontent infiltrated the Titans as a member - while secretly acting as a spy for Deathstroke, the Terminator. After utterly betraying the Titans, Terra's own rage consumed her as she buried herself in a ton of debris. |
Terra meets Changeling
in NEW TEEN
TITANS #26 [1982]. |
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TERRA & THE TITANS |
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| Terra's duplicity is revealed in NEW TEEN TITANS #34 [1983]. |
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Was it all an act? Terrs shows signs of true emotion in NEW TEEN TITANS #34 [1983] |
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Early Tremors
Terra meets the Titans in NEW TEEN TITANS #28 [1983] |
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Tara Markov was the illegitimate daughter of the King of Markovia, who sent her to the United States in order to avoid a scandal. Tara's royal blood gave her the ability to gain earth-moving powers, which she did, with the help of Dr. Helga Jace, who used the same process to make Prince Brion, Tara's half-brother, into the hero known as Geo-Force.
It is unclear how or when her earth-manipulating abilities were acquired, or how much ‘help' Dr. Jace was; Jace referred to Terra's acquisition of her powers as ‘meddling' – hinting she may not have had full permission to acquire said powers. Sometime after she acquired these abilities, she left Markovia to embark on her own.
Terra joins the team in NEW TEEN TITANS #30 [1983] |
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Tara was full of rage and hate, which may have stemmed from the fact that she was an illegitimate daughter to a king (a fact that made her an ‘embarrassment'). She was only fifteen when she had a reputation for using her powers to do others' dirty work, if the price was right. She picked up an assignment turned down by Deathstroke, the Terminator – to kill a powerful African tribesman. She took the assignment, became friendly with the king and joined his family. Tara ended up killing him.
The final pages of NEW TEEN TITANS #34 [1983]
revealed Terra as a traitor. |
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Terra and Slade plot against the Titans in
NEW TEEN TITANS #39 [1984] |
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It was through this assignment that Tara eventually hooked up with the Terminator, who used her to fulfill his contract with the H.I.V.E., regarding the destruction of the New Teen Titans. Tara adopted the name "Terra" and fabricated a story of being held hostage by terrorists, although the story itself had many holes and inconsistencies.
Titans Traitor
Changeling, who met Terra when she was attempting to destroy the Statue of Liberty, invited her to join the Titans. Gar quickly developed a crush on her, and Terra performed well with the group in order to perpetuate the lie. Terra was reunited, albeit briefly, with Geo-Force when the Titans teamed up with the Outsiders against the Fearsome Five.
Terra fought a partially rigged battle against the Terminator, which served to win over the Titans. Despite Raven's suspicions, Terra was inducted into the group and made privy to their secrets. Once she had all the information she needed, the traitorous Terra gave it to the Terminator, who used the knowledge to kidnap the Titans and take them to the H.I.V.E. base near the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
During a pitched battle in the H.I.V.E. complex, Jericho possessed his father's body, thereby freeing the Titans, and began fighting Terra. Feeling betrayed and thinking that the Deathstroke was turning against her, Terra went crazy and brought the complex down on herself. Despite this fact, she was buried with a Titan's funeral.
Terra's betrayal was never made public, and the superhero community believed she died a hero. Batman later disclosed Terra's crimes to her half-brother Geo-Force. Brion became so distraught that he changed his costume from the tan and brown arrangement which resembled Terra's to a green and yellow Geo-Force suit.
The depths of Terra 's duplicity revealed in NEW TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #3 [1984]. |
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Terra 's own rage consumes
her - with fatal results - in
NEW TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #3 [1984]. |
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Secrets Of The Second Terra
Years later, another Terra appeared, claiming to be a time-tossed adventurer from the future. But the presence of the original Terra's DNA - in addition to an empty coffin at Tara's gravesite - caused "Terra 2" to believe she was the original Titans' traitor. Before she could resolve her identity crisis, this second Terra died a hero while battling Black Adam during his worldwide rampage.
The emergence of a third Terra revealed that the second "Tara Markov" actually originated from a secret underground kingdom known as Strata.
Terra had control over the Earth and often flew on a chunk of rock to reach her destination. Terra could transform the consistency of earth and rock, cause earthquakes, tap into lava flows, and create shapes out of solid rock.
DC Secret Files, supplemented by titanstower.com
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New Teen Titans #26 [1982]: After the Titans return, Kid Flash goes home to Blue Valley and Changeling meets Terra on top of the Statue of Liberty, which she is trying to destroy. First appearance of Terra.
New Teen Titans #28 [1983]: Changeling captures Terra and brings her to Titans' Tower, where she claims that she has been committing crimes for terrorists who are holding her parents captive; Terra and the Titans confront her parents' supposed captors.
New Teen Titans #30 [1983]: The New Brotherhood of Evil follows Raven; Terra suddenly decides that she wants to be a Titan; ; While the Titans return to Titans' Tower, where Robin says that Terra can join the group, Raven seeks solitude in St. Peter's Cathedral, where the New Brotherhood of Evil finds her; During the Titans' and the New Brotherhood of Evil's battle in Times Square on New Year's Eve; The New Brotherhood of Evil takes Raven to Zandia; Terry Long proposes to Donna Troy. Terra joins the Titans this issue.
New Teen Titans #34 [1983]: Terra is unhappy on her sixteenth birthday because she does not feel like a Titan; The Terminator holds a stockbroker hostage in exchange for the Titans; Terra and the Titans battle him, with Terra coming out looking like the hero; She later meets with the Terminator, revealing herself as his accomplice in his contract with the H.I.V.E. Terra revealed as a traitor.
New Teen Titans #37 and Batman and the Outsiders #5 [1983]: Fearsome Five member Gizmo breaks his villain group out of prison; Under Psimon's leadership, the Fearsome Five kidnap Dr. Helga Jace and force her to make them a group of Mud Men to help in their battles; Dick Grayson tells Bruce Wayne that he wants to terminate their heroic partnership; The Titans and the Outsiders team up to defeat the Fearsome Five after the villains expel Dr. Light from the group and attempt to kill him; Robin chafes under Batman's leading the two groups in battle and takes over, proving that Robin does not always have to be in Batman's shadow. Terra is reunited with her brother, Geo-Force, in this story.
New Teen Titans #39 [1984]: Terra and the Terminator plot the fall of the Titans. Wally West decides to quit being Kid Flash, leaves his ring and costume with the Titans, and returns to Blue Valley; Dick Grayson gives up his Robin identity, turning Titan leadership over to Wonder Girl; Terra's contact lens camera relays Robin's and Kid Flash's civilian identities to the Terminator. Last appearance of Dick Grayson as Robin. Kid Flash leaves the team.
Tales of the Teen Titans #42-44, Tales of the Teen Titans Annual #3 [1984] "The Judas Contract": Terra gives her collected information on the Titans to Deathstroke, who captures each of the teen heroes and delivers them to the H.I.V.E., except Dick Grayson. Joseph and Adeline Wilson confront Dick at Titans' Tower, telling him of Terra's association with the Terminator, who brings the Titans to the H.I.V.E.'s Rocky Mountain headquarters. Dick Grayson learns the origin of The Terminator and about the accident that made his son Joseph a mute; Dick becomes Nightwing and agrees to let Adeline and Joseph accompany him to the H.I.V.E. base after Joseph takes the identity of Jericho and "possesses" him. They help free the Titans, but not before Terra kills herself. This event is catalogued as "The Judas Contract." First Dick Grayson as Nightwing in issue #44. First appearance of Joe Wilson in issue #42, as Jericho in issue #44. Death of Terra in Tales of the Teen Titans Annual #3.
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Marv & George Talk Terra:
Creating A Wolf in Sheeps Clothing |
George Pérez on Terra
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| A Who's Who entry by Pérez. |
[courtesy of Amazing Heroes]
GEORGE: Tara was just a cute little girl, although I based a little bit of that on my wife Carol's sister, Barbara. A little upturned nose... Barbara does not have the teeth that Tara had. I wanted Tara to be a girl who looked normal. Which also means her death caught everyone even more offguard.
Tara, she was made to be killed; she served her purpose. That was it.
ANDY: You didn 't get any attachment to Tara?
GEORGE: No, because I knew we were going to kill her. So I deliberately used all the things to make her as likeable and cute as possible, so people would never believe we were going to kill a sixteen-year-old. And she was a sixteen-year-old sociopath. She was one of our cleverest gimmicks; we deliberately created her in order to lead everyone astray. So we couldn't build any fondness for her, 'cause we knew full well what her whole motive for existence was. Her existence was basically to keep the stories interesting; we were tossing a curve that no one would have expected.
ANDY: You didn 't even love to hate her, huh?
GEORGE: No. I loved handling her, because she was such a good idea. But she was an idea. Not as much a person. She was there to show exactly how much their humanity can be one thing they have to be careful about, the Teen Titans have to be careful about. . . they can be too trusting, or their own weaknesses can be used against them.
Marv Wolfman On Terra
[Marv Wolfman Interview - Amazing Heroes #50, 1984]
Michael Hopkins Talks to the co-creator and writer of the Teen Titans: Marv Wolfman
The story of Terra was far different than what many expected, and its shattering culmination in the third annual brought many interesting aspects to light. "George and I knew exactly where it was going. She was set up specifically to make the readers think that we were doing a Kitty Pryde story [laughs], and then suddenly switch it on them when it was revealed she was a traitor. Lead the readers to think that she was going to reform, as every person has ever done here. Then, of course, not only not have her reform, but have her die. The reader was, we hope, taken by surprise. You notice DC did no publicity whatsoever that she died.
"I enjoyed playing the game for two years," Wolfman says. "Whenever anyone would ask 'ls a Titan going to die?' I said no. [laughs] And I was honest about it, because in my mind she was never a Titan, and she wasn't even a traitor. She was a very sick person. At the same time, we knew we could sell 50,000 more copies if we had said a Teen Titan dies in the annual. We weren't interested in that. We wanted the shock of the story.
"People did not know where it was going. Not even the diehard Titans fans who I see at conventions, who have magazines about the Titans that I read. All of them speculated that Terra was going to reform at the last minute and turn on the Terminator. Of course we had that in there, too, but for a totally different reason. The cover was created specifically to let you wonder which side she was going to take, not realizing that she was going against both."
An aspect that's particularly noticeable is the path that leads to Tara Markov's emotional and physical suicide. The fact is, as the story states, she has no reason for being what she became. Yet it's interesting to note a curious parallel between Terra's roots and the roots of Wonder Girl, namely that they're both bastard children. In exploring this, we see how simply and ingeniously Wolfman and Pérez have utilized traditional story devices while avoiding their
cliched traps.
"What we didn't want to do is state that beause she was this or because she was that, she was evil," Wolfman says. "There are people who are just not nice. They could be brought up in the best situations or whatever, it won't make a difference. Wonder Girl was brought up in an identical situation, only she turned out good. There was absolutely nothing in Terra's background that should have made her the type of character she was."
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Marv & George on "The Judas Contract" |
The Judas Contract Trade Paperback: Marv Wolfman's Introduction
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| A 2005 commission of Terra by Jeff Moy. |
The stories reprinted in this volume are among my favorites of the one hundred-plus Titans stories that I've written to date over the past eight and a half years. They work on several levels, the least of which is as good adventure stories.
To explain how these stories were written and drawn would, to me, prove uninteresting. Sitting side-by-side with artist and co-plotter George Pérez, hashing out concepts, rejecting concepts, coming up with new ideas, discarding them, etc., etc., etc. is the process by which most of the better Titans material was created. Instead, I'll use this small space to let new readers of the Titans know the story to date and how the character of Tara Markov was created.
There was an attack on the Statue of Liberty The Teen Titans flew from Titans Tower, situated on an island in New York's East River, to find Miss Liberty under siege by a young girl who called herself Terra. Terra was quickly subdued, and she explained her name was Tara Markov, that she had the power to control the earth itself, and that she had been led astray by terrorists and supposedly was following their command. The Titans saw Tara as a wise-mouthed child, lost, alone, and confused. They did not realize she was a deadly spy sent to infiltrate the Titans by one of their greatest enemies-Deathstroke, The Terminator.
When The New Teen Titans was first published back in 1980, many fans thought that we were simply 'ripping off the idea from Marvel's X-Men comic.
Nothing could have been further from the truth. I had written the Teen Titans in its first incarnation in 1969 and have had a fondness for the group ever since. When I came to DC Comics in 1980, I wanted to return to that title, bring it up to date, and add a new cast of characters to fight alongside some of the original members.
But the accusation that we were an X-Men clone continued, even though the X-Men writer, Chris Claremont, once stated at a comics convention that the only similarity was that we were both working on former cult titles and had made them more popular than before.
Still, some die-hards refused to give up. Now, I love puncturing balloons, and I decided if some fans thought we were an X-Men clone, then why not play with them a bit? The X-Men had just introduced a new member to their group, a young 14-year-old cute-as-a-button girl with incredible powers. I'd do the same. I'd play her first as a villain, then seemingly reform her and have her join the Titans. Only I'd have her constantly lie to the Titans, change her stories, do suspicious things, and, in general, make her a louse. I could do that, I knew, because comic book convention would demand that readers ignore all the evidence and assume she was a good girl. Alter all, the X-Men's Kitty Pryde was a heroine, so even the lying, cheating, conniving Tara Markov had to have a heart of gold.
Right?
Wrong. From the very beginning Tara was conceived as a villainess. It was the first time a member of a super-hero group ever proved to be a spy (not a traitor-she was always working for The Terminator). Playing on the comic readers' expectations worked.
The Tara Markov story threw everyone for a loop. Reader response ranged from hailing the stories as a Titans high point to "How dare you make her evil," (as if I had ever given the readers any reason to think she wasn't) to "For what you did to Tara Markov, I am going to kill you." We sent that death-threat to the police. Unlike our pen-and-ink created heroes and heroines, the writers and artists of the Titans are all too mortal.
This, then, is the story of Terra and The Terminator. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as George Pérez and I enjoyed creating it.
The Judas Contract Trade Paperback: George Pérez's Introduction
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| A 2004 commission of Terra by George Pérez. |
Ah, memories.
Has it really been five years since Marv Wolfman and I sat down in a small restaurant and gleefully plotted the birth and death of a cute little teenaged girl? Has it been that long since that fateful meeting in Dick Giordano's office when it was decided that a famous caped crusader's sidekick was going to hang up his mask and at last be his own master, and that we would also retire a certain teenage speedster? And was it so long ago that Marv and I racked our respective skulls trying to come up with a concept for a new hero for whom we had only a name and a parental history? Has it really been five years since The Judas Contract? I've always liked the name The Judas Contract. When Marv came up with it, I thought that it had a certain grandeur, a certain significance to it. And when I learned that DC Comics was reprinting the multi-issue saga, my mind flooded with waves of nostalgia, pleasant memories which always seem to arise when I think of my original tenure as co-creator, co-plotter, and artist on The New Teen Titans.
So it is that I recall how, after two years of establishing Titans as a bona-fide hit for DC, Marv and I sat across from one another in that diner booth and he told me about this new character he had just invented: a 15-year-old named Terra. She was to be the first new Titan to join the team since the inception of the series, but she would also be the first to die.
Thus was The Judas Contract born, although it would be over a year before that actual storyline would take place. Other inges were in the offing. the creation of The New Teen Titans, Marv and I had sworn not to make it a junior version of The Justice League of America, which is what the Titans were in the 1960s. (I used to call it the Justice Little League.) The of a group of kid sidekicks banded together to fight crime always invites comparisons between them and their adult mentors. Also, the freedom of utilizing a character fully is compromised when he is also being used concurrently in his guardian's own series.
Thankfully Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire were all-new heroes created specifically for Titans (I can still remember the words of artist/editor Joe Orlando when he saw the original design for Starfire: "I think you should make her hair longer." Boy, did I take that suggestion to heart!). Wonder Girl was never really a sidekick to Wonder Woman, and Changeling's roots to the then-defunct Doom Patrol series were non-hampering. That left Kid Flash and Robin. Kid Flash was easy. Robin was the tricky one. For over forty years, he had been the popular swashbuckling partner to the mysterious Batman. In fact, Batman without Robin was considered as unthinkable as Holmes without Watson, Robin Hood without Little John, Minneapolis without St. Paul! Yet Robin was the team leader, the linchpin of the Titans. When Marv Wolfman, then-Batman writer Doug Moench, and I sauntered into Executive Editor Dick Giordano's office to discuss Robin's fate, I actually thought we'd lose the rights to use the Titans' leader. Was I wrong. Goodbye, Robin/Dick Grayson-hello, Robin/Jason Todd!
Then there was Jericho. Marv wanted to introduce a new member to the Titans to replace the departed Kid Flash. However, he had the character's name (an unused character who was to have appeared in the original 1960s Titans series) and the notion that he would be an offspring of the villainous Terminator, but nothing more. After weeks of pounding our heads against the walls, we had all but given up. We couldn't think of anything for Jericho. Then it hit me. Overnight, I came up with the concept, personality, and design for Joseph William Wilson, the newest Teen Titan.
Joseph, or Jericho, was the first Titan I ever designed solely and as such, he was more of an artist's character than a writer's character. By making him mute (and forbidding poor Marv the use of thought balloons for the character), I was forced to convey Jericho's personality through body language and facial expressions. Such subtle nuances would have been unthinkable for me when I first started the series in 1980, but Marv was so confident in my improved abilities that he accepted my version of Jericho, who was a lot tougher for him to write.
That still left us with Dick Grayson. Dick has an incredibly vocal fan Following, particularly among females. There was no way we could keep that character out of the group indefinitely.
So, during the run of The Judas Contract, Dick Grayson's new crimefighting identity was established. Nightwing was born. Though neither Marv nor I were originally crazy about his new name, in the long run, it seems to have won the fans' hearts. Those who considered themselves Robin-Rooters have proudly followed Dick's new career as avid Wingnuts.
So here I am, hunched over my word processor, reliving the glorious yesterdays which went into the tales unfolded for you in the following pages. It was a time of growth for me. My maturation as an artist can be traced back to these stories. My new career as a writer was born from the many brainstorming plotting sessions through which Marv and I sweated during those days. I am grateful to the Titans and to Marv and all those who supported the effort.
Thanks for the memories.
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How I Spent My Summer Vacation With The Judas Contract |
by Brad Meltzer, originally published in Give Our Regards to the Atom-Smashers.
I was fourteen. She was sixteen.
I had a long, shaggy bowl cut (feathered on the sides, natch). She had a blond Dutch-boy hairstyle.
I was at the height of puberty. She was far more experienced.
I was an innocent. She was, too (or so it seemed).
Her name was Terra (aka Tara Markov). And she was the first girl to break my heart.
Simply put, she lied to me. And Im not just talking about the standard grade school lies (Youre definitely my best friend, or I never told Julie Lerner you were fat.). Im talking something far more sinister. Terra betrayed me. She deceived me. She shoved a knife in my belly and sliced upward all the way to my heart. And at fourteen years old, I loved every minute of it.
To back up a bit, and to give a little background in the hope that, when my mother reads this, she wont feel the parental guilt that will cause her to spend the next year of my life asking, Whos this Tara Markov, and how come you didnt tell me about her? heres a quick primer. In December 1982, New Teen Titans ..26 was published, introducing Terra, a troubled fifteen year-old who became the first new member of the Teen Titans. Let me make one thing clear: this was a big deal to me.
In 1982, New Teen Titans, written by Marv Wolfman, and drawn oh-so-exquisitely by George Perez, was easily the best book on the market (thats right, I said it--and yes, smart guy, Im well aware that Byrne-Claremont X-Men was being published at the same time). Made up of the junior superheroes of the DC Universe, the Titans brought together such mainstays as Robin, Kid Flash, and Wonder Girl, with new characters Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and Changling (a young, green (yes, green) fifteen year-old class clown who could change into green animals (yes, green, and yes, animals). As I type those words, Im reminded that comics always suffer in the re-telling, but take my word for it, the alchemy between Wolfman and Perez created a vehicle for stories that redefined what comic-book characterization was all about. Sure, the Titans beat on the bad guys, but the book was first and foremost about the relationships between these young kids who were saddled with enough power to knock down a mountain. And you thought your puberty was tough.
Which brings us back to Terra. At the time she was invited to join, the Titans were a family. Seven members. And now there was an eighth. As I said, it was a big deal--imagine Ringo telling the other Beatles, Hey, blokes--I got a great fifth to play tambourine! Still, it was accepted without much fuss. Lets not forget, thats how superteams work. Members leave . . . members join. Even Batman and Robin parted ways (the original Robin, fanboy). There are no Beatles in comics.
As Terra spent time with the group, there were definitely a few doubters. Would she fit in? Was she joining the team with the right intentions? But me? I was like Changling--simply smitten.
Terra joins the Titans in
NEW TEEN TITANS #30 [1984]. |
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Im not ashamed. I was twelve when she first appeared. Wonder Woman was far too old, and Wonder Girl was mature enough that she was dating a guy with a beard. Dammit, where were the teenage girls whod like insecure, loud-mouthed boys wearing Lee jeans like me? And then, out of the George Perez blue sky, comes this fifteen year-old fast-talking blond with super powers who could control the Earth itself. You better believe the ground quaked beneath my feet. Sure, she was trying to blow up the Statue of Liberty, but that was only because terrorists were threatening to kill her parents if she didnt take Lady Liberty down. She didnt want to do it, though--remember her words? I dont want to do any of this! Look at the back issues. There were tears in her eyes as she begged Changling to stay away. Dont make it harder on me, she begged. Please!! No question, this was a girl who needed help. She needed someone to come to her aid. She needed me.
Fast forward to issue twenty-eight. Terra was robbing a bank. Like before, her heart wasnt in it. She even apologized to Changling as she attacked him. . . . Im really sorry I have to do this And again, there were the tears. Curse those tears! They melted my pubescent heart like Fire Lad tonguing a Klondike bar. Dammit, world, cant you understand shes only doing it to save her parents!?
Of course, the Titans understood, and helped her track down the terrorists, only to find that her parents were already dead(!). Raging out of control, Terra screamed for revenge, gripping the terrorists in an enormous fist made of rock. As the villains begged for mercy, my girl squeezed them tighter. The Earth was shaking. She was so powerful, she started an earthquake. My young eyes went wide as the stone fist tightened--I couldnt believe it--she was really gonna kill em. But like all true heroes, as Terra peered into the abyss, she didnt like what she saw. Crumbling to her knees, she showed the villains the mercy never given to her parents. Again, my heart plummeted--Terra was fifteen and all alone in the world. Didnt anyone hear what she was saying on the final pages? I . . . feel so alone. And then, Changling looked into those sad, newly-orphaned blue eyes and said exactly what my twelve year-old brain was thinking: You dont have to be, Terra. Im here. (Emphasis not mine, but man, it couldve been.) The teaser on the cover of the issue said, Introducing Terra! Is She Friend--or Foe? Friend! I shouted. Friend!
I have to hand it to Wolfman and Perez. They knew what they were doing. Preying on the knight-in-shining-armor gene thats inherent in every male comic fan (oh, cmon, why do you think we read this stuff in the first place?), they conjured the perfect young lady in distress, then stepped back to watch us put our legs in the metal trap. The first step was done. By introducing her as a victim, they made us feel for her. But then they raised the stakes. Sure, she was in pain, but she was far from helpless. In fact, when Changling tried to come to her aid, she not only refused it, she actually punched him in the face, called him a nerd, and flew away. Think about that a moment. Do you have any idea what a strong female character like that does to a thirteen year-old psyche? No? Then let me back up even further and explain.
In 1981, in the heart of New-York-accent Brooklyn, my biggest social dilemma was deciding between Karen Akin and Ananda Bresloff. The slam books (aka, popularity ratings that were passed around to decide our social fates) were clear: given the choices Good, Fair, and Yuk, both Karen and Ananda had ranked me as Good. Even in fifth grade, Good was a good sign. Now the ball was in my court. How would I rank them? Sure, we had traded slam books at the exact same time, but only a fool ranks someone before they see how that person ranks them. Make no mistake, I mayve been dumb enough to think my knee-high tube socks were cool, and even insecure enough to want to wear a gold Italian-horn charm around my neck even though I was Jewish, but I was nobodys fool. And so, I handed Karen and Ananda their respective slam books.
Did you do the chart? they asked.
Of course, I said.
But when they checked inside, heres what they saw:
Girls -- rank them Good, Fair, or Yuk
Darlene Signorelli - Fair
Randi Boxer - Fair
Danielle Levy - Fair
Ananda Bresloff -
Karen Akin -
Thats right, bubba. I left it blank. Whod they think they were dealing with? I read far too many Lex Luthor stories--every single Adventure Comics digest and the oversized maxi-books--to fall for some simple trap. I wasnt putting my heart on the line until I knew it was a sure thing. And so, armed with my recent Good, ranking, I knew who I was deciding between. Time to make a choice.
Heres how it looked to me in fifth grade: Ananda was really cute, nice, soft-spoken, and really cute. Karen was loud, had a face full of freckles, and thanks to her older sister, seemed to have far more experience than everyone else in the class combined. She knew how to write in cursive before anyone--and told us all what a blowjob was. She was tough too. More important, she made fun of me and pushed me around. Even back then, the choice was clear. Now I just had to break the news.
The final pages of NEW TEEN TITANS #34 [1983] set the "world spinning" in every fanboy's heart. |
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It was the last day of school in fifth grade at P.S. 206. Id spent weeks going through slam books and leaving Karen and Anandas rankings blank. But today was the day that would all change. In fact, if I summoned the strength in time, I might even be picking my first girlfriend. The clock was ticking toward three. The school year was almost gone. Forever melodramatic, I waited until the final bell rang. I remember putting my little checkmarks in the appropriate columns, then slamming the book shut before anyone got a peek. As we all ran for the doors, flooding into the schoolyard, I handed the book back to its owner. I still remember her flipping through the pages to see my answer. She looked up when she saw it: Karen--Good; Ananda--Yuk. Yet before anyone could even react, I--being the brave young soul that I was--darted from the schoolyard and ran straight home without talking to anyone. The next morning, I left for camp. Two months went by before Id have to face my decision. Was I a puss or a genius? All I knew was, when I returned to Brooklyn in early September, Karen was my girlfriend, even if she did push me around and completely intimidate me.
So whats this have to do with Terra? Simply put, I was a Karen-guy, not an Ananda-guy. Maybe it was young masochism; maybe it was just a love of being dominated--but when it came to choosing sides, back then, I wanted the tough chick. Karen was tough--which is why we broke up soon after. Then, in June of 1983, my dad lost his job and my family moved from Brooklyn to Miami, Florida. When we first arrived, I didnt have a single friend, much less a girlfriend. No Karen . . . no Ananda . . . nothing. It was right around the time Terra joined the Titans. At first glance, she was tough too. And she had super-powers. She mouthed off at Changling and definitely pushed him around. No doubt, she could kick Karen Akins ass. Truthfully, she could kick my ass. And with that soft spot she had from her parents recent death . . . it didnt take three issues for Wolfman and Perez to achieve their goal . . . I was now a Terra-guy.
Laugh if you must, but it was a great infatuation. My fathers generation loved Lois Lane, who always needed her super-man. I loved Terra, who didnt need me, didnt want me, and could pummel me with fifty tons of rock if I really pissed her off. Forget Black Canary in her fishnets. Here was someone my age, wounded by the loss of lost parents and searching for a soulmate. It was a potent combination for us young comic readers. Before Madonna made strong women cool and Gwen Stefani made them hot, Terra was the first official grrl for the new generation. True love indeed.
Sleeping with the enemy?
Say it ain't so! From
NEW TEEN TITANS #39 [1984]. |
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For the next six months of my life, I watched as the kind, happy family of the Teen Titans welcomed this hardened orphan into their midst. She helped them fight the Brotherhood of Evil, Thunder and Lightning, and even the Titans most feared enemy, Deathstroke. Whatever concerns they had about her were quickly silenced. Month after month, Terra put her life on the line for the team. Within six issues (a lifetime in comics, or a day, depending on the storyline), she was one of the Titans own, enmeshed in their personal lives just as much as she was enmeshed in my own. Then came the final pages of New Teen Titans #34.
Ill never forget--it was a right-hand page, perfectly placed so the surprise wouldnt be revealed until us readers casually flipped past the DC house ads. I turned the page and there it was: in a rundown tenement, Terra was secretly meeting with Deathstroke! Her face was lit with a dark grin Id never seen on her. My God, they were working together! My eyes stayed locked on her mask, which she twirled carelessly around a come-hither pointer finger. My world was spinning just as fast. It was like Batgirl sleeping with the Joker! She was plotting the Titans downfall with their greatest enemy. I trusted her! I was there for her! And unlike any other comic creation Id ever read, and I say this in the least creepy way possible, I loved her! And now, she was reaching down my throat and ripping my heart out for her own enjoyment! Terra, how could you betray me like this!?
And now, a word from reality . . .. Okay, so it wasnt that bad--but I also dont want to undersell the moment. I can still remember my stomach sinking down to my testicles. In the world of comics, nothing like this had ever happened. Sure, there were always heroes who were later revealed as villains. At Marvel, The Avengers did it every week: There Shall Be . . . A Traitor Among Us! Both Black Panther and Wonder Man were originally there to infiltrate the Avengers . . . The Falcon was created by the Red Skull to kill Captain America . . . even Snapper Carr took a potshot at the Justice League. But the end of those stories was always the same: the so-called villain (Black Panther, Wonder Man, Falcon, Snapper) came to their senses and saved the day. In Terras case, however . . . this girl didnt just infiltrate the Titans--she really wanted to kill them. And best of all, as the months wore on, Wolfman and Perez never backed away from the decision. Indeed, issue after issue, they kept turning up the despicable meter on Terras actions. By the time they were done, Terra wasnt just working with Deathstroke, she was sleeping with him. Lets see Black Panther do that.
A card for DC's VS Trading Card Series:
Titans (and fans?) Betrayed! |
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For my now-thirteen year-old brain, it was all too much. Dont get me wrong, I wasnt turned off by what she was doing. Cmon, I was fourteen. She was the first true femme fatale in my life. I was turned on. I can still remember the slutty eye-shadow they put on her when she was in villain mode, smoking a cigarette like a young blond Britney Spears doing Marlene Dietrich doing bad Eighties porn. There were even high-heeled pumps scattered across the floor by the (wait for it) beanbag chair. So scary . . . but somehow . . . so naughty. Which brings me back to my old girlfriend, Karen Akin.
In August 1984, Id been living in Florida for over a year. I was now the new kid who sat silently in the middle row of the class. No one knew my name. Sure, Id made a few friends, but it was nothing like Karen, Ananda, or any of the other girls from Brooklyn. All I had was Terra. The only question was: how was it all gonna end?
The final chapter of The Judas Contract was published in Tales of the Teen Titans Annual #3 during that same summer of 1984. It was titled Finale. By then, all the cards were on the Titans Tower table: Terra was working (and sleeping) with Deathstroke, all the Titans (except for Dick Grayson) were defeated and captured, and Nightwing and Jericho were in the midst of a near-impossible rescue attempt in the heart of H.I.V.E. headquarters. No doubt, it all came down to this. Terra would either remain the villain, or come to her senses and save the day. I still remember looking at the cover, trying to guess the answer. Perez made the choice clear: on one side were all the Titans, on the other was Deathstroke and the H.I.V.E. Terra was in the middle, her head turned back slightly toward Changling, who seemed to be pleading for her redemption. To play with our heads even more, Perez added two worry lines by Terras face, as if she too were struggling with the decision. I made my guess. There was no way Terra was truly evil. Redemption was a few pages away.
Terra delivers Nightwing to the H.I.V.E. in NEW TEEN TITANS ANNUAL #3 [1984]. |
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Forty pages later, Terra was dead. I shook my head as the scene played out. Changling begged her to come to her senses . . . he pleaded and prayed . . . but Terras rage was all consuming. Remembering the cover, I kept waiting for her to look back at him and see true love. Or hope. Or the family who loved her. But it never came. Eyes wide with insanity, she attacked with a ruthlessness Id never seen in a comic--and in the end, as a mountain of self-propelled rocks rained down and buried her, that rage--literally and figuratively--killed her. I shook my head. Theres no way shes dead, I told myself. I dont care what the omniscient narrator said. I know my comics. Hero or villain, Terra was too good a character. Until they find a body
. . . We found Taras body, Wonder Girl said one page later. I turned to another right-hand page and there was Changling . . . down on his knees, clutching Terras broken corpse as her arms sagged lifelessly toward the ground. Self-destruction complete.
I still cant believe they went through with it. A few years ago, I read an interview with George Perez that said Terra was created to die, and they never planned on taking the easy way out by suddenly writing the happy ending. I hope they know how much that decision affected me as a writer. Old girlfriends and teenage fetishes aside, it was one of the most heartbreaking stories Id ever read. They took people in capes and utility belts and made them real--and just when we loved them most . . . just when we opened our arms to embrace them . . . Wolfman and Perez stabbed icepicks in our armpits and did the one thing neither Marvel nor DC ever had the balls to do--they kept her as a villain and slaughtered her. She was sixteen. No redemption. No feel-good music during the end credits. The pulp side of the genre has it right--its always best when the femme fatale buys it in the end--but in comics, itd never been done. And the traitor side of the story? Wonder Man, Falcon, Black Panther, and even Snapper got honorary memberships. Terra got a headstone with her name on it.
To this day, The Judas Contract is one of the few stories that actually surprised me--not just in its ending, but in how it plucked at my emotions. As I said, Terra lied to me, betrayed me, and stomped on my trust with her six-inch heels. Without a doubt, I loved every second of it.
by Brad Meltzer
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The Tale of Three Terras
In 1983, DC Comics introduced a powerful and tragic character with Terra. In 1991, DC shocked readers with the "return" of Terra - or was it? In 2007, DC introduced a third mysterious Terra. So, what's the story behind all these Terras? And how are they connected? Read on, mudslingers....
The First Terra:
Tara Markov |
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The first Terra appeared in the classic New Teen Titans #26 [1982]. Changeling met Terra on top of the Statue of Liberty, which she was trying to destroy. A confused and troubled runaway, Terra (Tara Markov) was persuaded to seek sanctuary at Titans Tower in New Teen Titans #28 [1983]. In issue #30, Terra even joined the group as a full-fledged Titan.
Although smart-mouthed and full of attitude, Terra charmed her way into Changeling's (and readers') hearts. Only Raven sensed something was disturbing about the girl's backstory. In the pivotal New Teen Titans #34 [1983], the mud hit the fan. After staging a battle with Deathstroke, Terra later met with him in secret, revealing herself as his accomplice in his contract with the H.I.V.E. Readers were stunned - and that's just the way Marv Wolfman and George Pérez planned it all along.
Marv recalls, "George and I knew exactly where it was going. She was set up specifically to make the readers think that we were doing a Kitty Pryde story [laughs], and then suddenly switch it on them when it was revealed she was a traitor. Lead the readers to think that she was going to reform, as every person has ever done here. Then, of course, not only not have her reform, but have her die. The reader was, we hope, taken by surprise."
Readers were indeed taken by surprise. Terra remained a member of the team, as readers were still left in the dark about Terra's motivations. The events of New Teen Titans #39 [1984] made it even harder for fans to believe that Terra may be a sheep in wolf's clothing. In that issue, a tarted-up Tara was shown plotting the Titans' demise while enjoying a post-coital smoke. Terra was literally sleeping with the enemy. And after a brutal training excercize with Slade, Terra denounced "cute girl super-heroes" and vowed to kill all the "sanctimonious do-gooders." Suddenly, hopes for Terra's reform seemed slim, at best.
George Pérez even designed Terra in a way that would mislead readers: "I deliberately used all the things to make her as likeable and cute as possible, so people would never believe we were going to kill a sixteen-year-old. And she was a sixteen-year-old sociopath. She was one of our cleverest gimmicks; we deliberately created her in order to lead everyone astray."
The final pages of NEW TEEN TITANS #34 [1983]
revealed Terra as a traitor. |
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Terra and Slade plot against the Titans in
NEW TEEN TITANS #39 [1984] |
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The story culminated in the classic "Judas Contract" 4-parter in Tales of the Teen Titans #42-44 and Tales of the Teen Titans Annual #3 [1984]. Terra gives her collected information on the Titans to Deathstroke, who captured each of the teen heroes and delivers them to the H.I.V.E. Eventually, the group was rescued by Dick Grayson (in his debut as Nightwing) and Jericho. During the battle, Terra loses her tenuous grip on sanity, and not even Raven could ease her troubled mind. Ultimately, Terra's own rage consumed her, as she buried herself in a mountain of debris.
Marv later reflected on the storyline in his online "What The--?" column: "Only mistake I think I made with him is having [Deatshtroke] have a physical relationship with the 16 year old Tara Markov. That was wrong. [...] George and I wanted a Titan who betrayed the others. We also wanted to play against every reader conception of who characters are. George and I knew her whole story before we began and we knew she would die. We set the story up with her trying to destroy the Statue of Liberty to show she was the bad girl, but we knew if George drew her as a cute kid everyone would simply assume she would be "turned" from the dark side because that's the way it was always done which is why that wouldn't be the way we did it. Tara was insane and stayed that way right until the moment she died."
And she was indeed dead.
If there was any doubt, the latter's column of Tales of the Teen Titans #47 [1984] put it to rest, in Marv's own words: "We received a number of letters pointing out that Terra's brother, Geo-force, had died and because he was buried in the earth he was able to return to life. The assumption here is that Terra, too, will soon be leaving the grave for a return visit. Sorry, but young Tara is gone. To the literally hundreds of you who begged us to bring her back - we can't. This death is not reversible."
"To those who understood her death or at least accepted it, thank you for your comments. A little over 2 years ago, George and I worked out the full Terra storyline, including the finale. We'd been working toward that story all that time, trying to make certain that we didn't, in the meantime, fall so in love with our character that we decided to reverse her ultimate fate. It was hard, almost impossible, not to care for Terra even though we knw how evil she was. Sometimes, just sometimes, mind you, certain characters take on a life and existence of their own despite anything you do. Terra was one of those characters."
"At any rate, Terra is gone and we go on. But the effects of Terra's death are far from over, and they will continue to haunt the Titans for months to come."
Or, perhaps, years to come. Eight years later, to be exact.
Short list of notable appearances:
New Teen Titans #26, 28-39
Tales of the Teen Titans #40-44, 55, Annual #3
New Teen Titans (second series) Annual #1
Batman and the Outsiders #5
World's Finest #300
The Second Terra: "Tara Markov" |
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In 1991, Jonathan Peterson took over as editor of New Titans. Feeling the title had become complascent, Peterson wanted the "shake things up" in a bold new storyline that would offers massive changes, shocks and surprises. New characters would be introduced, and older characters would be given massive overhauls. The ambitious storyline - dubbed "Titans Hunt" - began in New Titans #71 [1991].
During a "Titans Summit" with the entire creative team, everyone was encouraged to brainstorm bold ideas for the series. Peterson recalls, "They went through lists of Titans stuff they could redo or bring back, and then we thought, we could bring back Terra!" Peterson adds, "Bringing her back was interesting because that was Marv's idea. I remember Marv saying the death of Terra was one of the biggest mail surges. We definitely wanted someone in Team Titans to anchor the group to Titans history, and that was the first one Marv latched onto and ran with."
Terra's "return" began in New Titans #79 [1991], where a mysterious group of teenagers stalked Donna Troy. The last page revealed one of those 5 mysterious teenagers was none other than Terra! The storyline was continued in New Titans Annual #7 and New Titans #80 [1991], which introduced the Team Titans, a band of freedom fighters from 10 years in the future.
Marv was entertained by the idea of using this new Terra: "I also liked how she could upset the apple cart in the present: What it does to her relationship with Changeling, what it does to Deathstroke-who had a 16-year-old kid for a lover for a brief time, back when he was a little more vicious; what it does to everything! Terra is a wild card, because even she doesn't know some of her own programming, or who she was in her time period. I was pleased with the character's addition from the shock value to the readers to making it work correctly without bringing back the original Terra or making her [the Outsiders'] Geo-Force's daughter. This uses everything."
So if the new Terra wasn't the previous Terra, then who was she? And why did she look exactly like Terra? The answers were revealed when the Team Titans were launched into their own series. Terra's origin was revealed in Team Titans #1: A nameless orphan girl was injected with the original Terra's DNA and planted as a spy within the Team Titans. In a twist of fate, this Terra chose the right path and joined the Titans to become a freedom fighter. Marv recalls: "The Terra from Team Titans was - as stated - some kid the villain kidnapped and physically and mentally altered her into looking and acting like the original. But she was NEVER the real Terra."
This remained true for the duration of the Team Titans series, which ended with #24. With the onset of Zero Hour, many DC series were restarted and relaunched. In an effort to streamline the Titan franchise, the entire Team Titans timeline was erased, leaving only Terra and Mirage as surviving members. Both former Teamers joined the Titans in New Titans #0 and #115.
The Time Trapper reveals the truth: Terra, Mirage and Deathwing are from this timeline!
From NEW TITANS ANNUAL #11 [1995]. |
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While Marv was insistant that the first Terra remain dead, New Titans editor Pat Garrahy had his own ideas. In New Titans Annual #11, the Time Trapper appears and tells Mirage and Terra they did not originate from a false future timeline, but from the present timeline instead. Before the Time Trapper can reveal the second Terra's origins, she destroys the mesage orb recording. Plagued with doubt, Terra 2 unearths the original Terra's coffin and finds it empty. The story seemed to suggest that Terra 2 was actually Terra 1, somehow still alive and wiped of her memories. The news leaves Terra 2 shaken and disturbed. Could she somehow be the psychotic, original Tara Markov?
Marv Wolfman later revealed the genesis of the plotline: "The editor at the time [Pat Garrahy] insisted we do that story. I didn't want to, even though it was agreed on in advance the new Terra would NOT be related in any way to the old. I just didn't see any reason to bring it up again. At about this time I asked off the title. My contract brought me to issue #130 and I saw no reason to bring up the Terra situation again in the limited time we had. "
With New Titans canceled with issue #130, Terra 2's next major appearnce was in the pages of The Titans Secret Files #2 [2000] - in not one, but two stories. In one short story written by Geoff Johns and Ben Raab, Terra 2 gets a DNA test to determine whether she is the "real" Terra or not. Sparing his sister the troubling news, Geo-Force tells her the result is negative, even though the tests reveal a positive match. In the second story, Gar's cousin Matt Logan holds a membership drive for a new Titans West Coast team. Terra joind the new team - dubbed Titans L.A - along with Beast Boy, Flamebird, Herald, Bumblebee, and Captain Marvel Jr. and Hero Cruz.
At the time, there were plans for a Titans L.A. 8-issue maxi-series by Geoff Johns and Ben Raab. The two Secret Files stories served as a tease to that. Geoff Johns revealed in a 2002 interview with titanstower.com: "Ben and I had pitch in for a Titans L.A. maxi-series that never got off the ground. It would've been fun, but it's dead. dead. dead." When asked about Terra 2's true identity, Geoff replied, "We were going to deal with them in Titans L.A. -- part of the main focus of the mini. Unfortunately, it's been left open-ended. Hopefully another writer will pick up on it someday."
A card for DC's VS Trading Card Series:
Terra 2's final costume. |
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The DNA match - along with the empty coffin - seemed more proof that Terra 2 was indeed Terra 1.
Marv Wolfman, in a recent interview, weighed in on the subject of Terra: "By the way, she IS dead. I don't know what other writers will do with her - if anything - but if they want to honor the original series they will leave her dead."
Terra 2 would never learn the answers to her mysterious past. As she still pondered her own identity, yet a third Terra made her debut in the pages of Supergirl #12 in 2007. To pave way for another rock-slinging teen heroine, Terra 2 met her abrupt demise in World War III: Hell Is For Heroes [2007] at the hands of Black Adam. In the end, the second Terra proved she was nothing like the first Terra. She died a true hero.
Short list of notable appearances:
New Titans #79-80, 85-96, 100, 0, 115-130
New Titans Annual #7, 11
The Titans $ell-Out $pecial #1
Team Titans #1-24
Team Titans Annual #1-2
Titans Secret Files #1-2
Deathstroke #14-16, 45, 46, 48-50
Outsiders #17
Zero Hour #0-4
Teen Titans (third series) #17-19
World War III: Hell Is For Heroes
Supergirl #12 [2007] finds the Girl of Steel down in the dumps - and no match for a monster that's using her emotions as a weapon. This looks like a job for a Terra, a mysterious new hero whose very steps make the ground tremble to make her presence known to the world. Hey, wait a sec... new hero? Wasn't she dead? And wasn't there another one? Good questions.
The all-new Terra was co-created by writing partners Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray and designed by artist Amanda Conner. With black hair and a sunny disposition, this new Terra was a conceptual departure from the first two identical-looking smart-mouthed blondes. So what connection does this hew heroine have to Terras past? The honest answer is.... none, at first. "We brought in the idea for a new character and after a few months of back and forth we were asked [by Dan Didio] if we could take elements from that character and apply her to bringing a new Terra to the DCU," explained Terra co-creator Justin Gray.
Jimmy Palmiotti talked about the origins of the all-new Terra on a STUN! (http://stunpodcast.wordpress.com) podcast: "DC wanted a new Terra. [...] Somehow, we're going to figure out how all those Terra tie together. We came up with a real basic premise. They are all connected. Their powers are all the same, but their attitudes are completely different."
"The new Terra sort of has the sensibilities of Superman. [...] She has a real super-hero sensibility. There's no doubt [in her mind], unlike the other two Terras, who both had some psychological stuff going on. In this mini series, we explain them out. We explain who they are, where they came from and what they have in common with the new Terra. And then we say, "go." So by the [last] issue, we launch her out. And that's for another writer to work on her in another book."
The truths behind the all-new Terra were eventually revealed in her own self-titled mini-series in 2008.
The third Terra was actually a young girl named Atlee who was born in the underground world known as Strata. The Council of Elders, believing the surface world could pose a threat to them, sought to send its own protector to the surface. The Quixium metal that alters the genetics of all Stratans can give a rare few the power to move the very earth itself. Atlee had such geo-morphing skills that she was selected as Strata's protector - a role she takes quite seriously.
The second and third Terras are explained
in TERRA (mini-series) #4 [2008]. |
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It was also revealed that the second Terra was Strata's first protector. The Council selected a Stratan female with earth-moving abilities and altered her genetics by replicating the DNA from the corpse of the original Tara Markov. This new "Tara Markov" was sent to the surface world, in the hopes that presenting a familiar face would help the Stratan female blend in with the super-human community.
There were some initial ideas about "explaining away" the mental instability of the first Terra - as well as connecting all theTerras and Geo-Force to Strata. In Terra #2 and #3, Atlee makes some comments about how the combination of Quixium with human DNA could cause mental instability, as it did in the first two Terras. This element was changed by the time issue #4 was written. Justin Gray explains: "The second Terra was from Strata the first [was not]. Terra 1 stays as she is in DC Universe: Last Will & Testament [2008]. The brain damage was part of the initial story before DC Universe: Last Will & Testament that connected all three Terras and Geo-Force to Strata, the book needed to be changed to reflect DC Universe: Last Will & Testament, the double ship made changes to issue #2 impossible. It happens and we all did what we could to make it work."
The creators of the all-new Terra hopes new and old fans will give her a chance. Explains Jimmy, "We're beyond trying to please all of the people on this one and are focusing on how what went before would nicely fit into what we are establishing now. It's a wonderful jigsaw puzzle that makes sense once all is said and done. [...] it will be a roller coaster for Terra's original fans and we hope an exciting and visually appealing story for all new comers.
Justin adds, "We've been working with Terra for months and months trying to find and develop what's special about her. In the end it was a very simple angle, make Terra a superhero with plenty of emphasis on heroism."
Short list of notable appearances:
Supergirl #12
Terra (mini-series) #1-4
Terror Titans (mini-series) #1-6
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